Before the muscle-flexing finally ended and the ball could be inbounded late in the first half of the Spurs' 100-81 victory over the Lakers, officials had issued technical fouls to both players and later gave another to Kobe Bryant.

Ginobili took Sunday's piñata treatment as a compliment.

“It makes you feel kind of good,” Ginobili said. “If they are trying to mess with you, it means you're important, right?”

Over the past month, no player has been more important, or meant more to his team, than Ginobili. Sunday's game added one more chapter to that book.

Ginobili scored 32 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and Tim Duncan added 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs clinched their 13th consecutive playoff bid by laying to rest their Staples Center demons.

Before Sunday, the Spurs had won an NBA title more recently than they'd beaten the Lakers in Los Angeles. Including an 0-3 mark in the 2008 Western Conference finals, the Spurs had lost seven straight at Staples Center against the building's more high-profile occupants.

The Spurs' last loss, March 29 to the lowly Nets, underscored Ginobili's importance long before Artest got hold of him. Ginobili missed that game with back spasms.

Ginobili's free-agent price tag, it seems, goes up even on days he doesn't play. He says the uncertainty of his future has not affected his play, and coach Gregg Popovich isn't surprised.

“If you told him you were going to sign him for a gazillion bucks, or you have no interest in him ever coming back again, he'd play the same way,” Popovich said.

A free agent-to-be in July, Ginobili would much rather increase his going rate as he did Sunday — by outplaying the likes of Bryant.

In his first game since signing a three-year, $90 million extension, Bryant scored 22 points but shot 8 of 24.

Ginobili, meanwhile, followed a season-high 43-point performance against Orlando with another big game against the other participant in last year's Finals.

With George Hill sidelined for the second half with a serious ankle sprain, Ginobili even filled in at point guard.

After the Lakers sliced a 15-point deficit to four with 8:39 remaining, Ginobili took over.

In 90 seconds, he buried a 3-pointer, drove for a pair of free throws, scored while falling down under the hoop and zipped for a reverse layup.

After Duncan put an up-and-under move on Pau Gasol to put the Spurs up by 12 with 5:42 remaining, Ginobili threw in a 27-footer to push the lead to 15. The Spurs' Staples curse had been broken.

Before, and after, Popovich was asked about the prospect of facing the West-leading Lakers (55-22) in the first round of the playoffs. It remains a possibility, even with the Spurs clinging to seventh place.

“We're all trying to hide from the Lakers in the first round,” Popovich said, “and that's the truth.”

As the wins have piled up, however, the Spurs are starting to believe they can play with anybody. Like their Argentine catalyst, they are beginning to feel important again.